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Warming Atlantic Ocean may be causing changes in lobster growth cycle

Lobster fishing is set to start early on the East Coast this spring because of changes to lobsters’ growth cycle that scientists believe may be linked to the warming Atlantic Ocean.

Lobsters are most marketable before they moult because their shells are hard and full of meat. When they moult, they are fragile and can’t be shipped long distances.
(Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)

Lobster season is set to start early on parts of the East Coast this spring because of changes to lobsters’ growth cycle that scientists believe may be linked to the warming Atlantic Ocean.

Four lobster areas in Nova Scotia are opening 10 days earlier this April because of early moulting — or shedding — of lobsters in recent years. Last year fishermen in Nova Scotia and Maine say lobsters were moulting several weeks before they normally do.

Opening dates for lobster fishing change from time to time according to specific areas, but to see so many change in one year is unusual.

Bob Bayer, a professor of animal and veterinary sciences and the director of the Lobster Institute in Maine, said he’s never seen anything like this, “and I’ve been watching this stuff for over 30 years.”

Bayer said the change is causing uncertainty in the industry because fishermen “don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

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The early moulting has been occurring for a number of years but was most pronounced last year. There is even some indication lobsters are moulting more often than the usual once a year.

Last year moulting lobsters were seen in April in Maine, and in June in Nova Scotia. “Shedders,” as they’re called, are normally seen in June in Maine and later in the summer in Nova Scotia.

Lobsters are most marketable before they moult because their shells are hard and full of meat. When they moult, they slip out of their old shells and are worth far less, since they are fragile and can’t be shipped long distances.

The early moult last year meant some fishers were unexpectedly catching unmarketable lobsters.

The changes to opening dates are a shake-up for a deeply traditional industry, which in Canada is strictly regulated by dates and areas that can be fished. The regulations have been in place for generations to ensure the sustainability of the fishery and fairness to fishermen.

The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which approves changes, is also reviewing requests to change the opening dates of two other Nova Scotia lobster areas, one of which is shared with P.E.I.

Jean Lavallée, an aquatic scientist based in Charlottetown, has been studying lobster moulting in southwest Nova Scotia for several years.

“It’s a trend that we’ve seen that lobsters are starting to moult earlier and earlier every year,” he said.

It’s not just a matter of early moulting. Lavallée said lobsters normally shed in the same two- to four-week period but now it’s occurring from spring until December, leaving some wondering if market-size lobsters are moulting more than the usual once per year. Smaller lobsters moult more than once a year as they grow, but normally not those that are market-size.

“You have to make sure what you’re doing isn’t going to have an adverse affect on your fellow fishermen,” said Eugene O’Leary, who has been fishing for 23 years.

Lavallée supports adjusting fishing seasons as necessary, drawing a comparison with field crops. He says strawberries aren’t harvested on a certain date every year, “We go and harvest strawberries when they’re ready to be harvested and we know we’re going to get the best return.”

Similarly he says lobsters should be fished when fishermen will get the best return on them.

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